A Long Awaited Valentine's Day
by PastPotatoes
Summary: Jim and Sarah celebrate Valentine's Day. Contains fluff.
1. Breakfast in Bed

Sarah Kerrigan was glad that Jim Raynor had the tiniest hint of latent psionic ability and thus she was glad that she had been able to teach him the ability to keep some of his thoughts from her; they were in a relationship and she wanted him to know she trusted him without reading his thoughts. Besides, sometimes a girl liked to be surprised in the bedroom.

Today she was certainly being surprised in bed. Jim had woken her up with the softest and loving of kisses, followed by words of how much he loved her. She of course returned those words and kisses.

Before things had gotten too heated Jim had gone to make her breakfast; eggs and bacon. As he returned to the bedroom he also brought with him a glass of champagne and a single red rose.

Sitting up in bed, Sarah's eyes widened and her lips curled as she saw his offering. She'd rarely even had champagne in the past and never in bed. As Jim laid the breakfast tray on her lap she noticed the champagne glass had a single strawberry in the bottom. She loved strawberries.

"Happy Valentine's Day, darlin'," he told her happily as he passed the glass to her, perching himself on the edge of the bed beside her.

She took the glass with a smile. "Happy Valentine's Day," she told him back and took the glass of champagne. "You aren't going to have one?" She asked softly.

"I have to drive," he told her reluctantly. "Besides, I promised you I'd cut down," he added cheerfully. He'd promised her months ago that he'd cut down on his drinking and he felt much better physically for doing so.

"A glass of champagne on a special occasion won't hurt," she told him. She was proud he'd stopped drinking so much, she had been worried about the strain of it on his body. They had finally gotten together after so long and there was no way she'd let Jim die because of too many whiskies. Of course, she still welcomed his whiskey tasting kisses on the occasional night.

"I'll have a drink tonight," he told with her with a smirk.

"Tonight? What are we doing tonight?" She asked innocently. She took a sip of her champagne and looked at him with big eyes.

"I told you it was a surprise," he said as he picked up the single rose. He'd promised her they'd do something special but it would be a surprise; a secret he was using a lot of effort to keep from a class ten psionic.

"I don't care what we do, as long as we spend it together," she told him truthfully. She shot him a smile and looked at the rose. It was so pretty, God knows how he'd got one this far away from the core worlds.

He saw her look to it and he extended it to her. "I tried to get you a full dozen but..." he began but was soon cut off.

"It's perfect," she interrupted. One or a dozen, it made no difference, it was the thought and feeling behind it she cherished. She took the rose carefully and brought it to her nose. It smelt lovely.

Jim smiled, it was good to see her enjoying the simple things in life. He was glad she _could_ enjoy the simple things after everything they'd both been through. It had been almost a year since she had returned to him, giving up her Xel'naga powers to be with him as a Terran woman. She'd spent two years prior to that away from him seeding barren words with life and only once certain she'd created ten times that which she'd destroyed she had returned to him.

After finally reuniting on Mar Sara they had come to the world known as Haven. Jim had people here he could trust, and he knew a good doctor if they needed one. But he'd come here wanting to vanish, anonymity, he and Sarah both, start over together, and the kind people of Haven respected that.

He and Sarah shared a small house a hour or so away from the main settlement. Jim would offer his skills as a strategist and map reader, as did Sarah, but they mostly kept to themselves.

"Where are you off to this morning?" Sarah asked as she looked from the rose to him. He'd told her a few days ago that some of the colonists thought they'd found a resource deposit and wanted Jim's professional opinion on it but hadn't said where.

"Just into the settlement. They have a bunch of readings and scans they want me to look over," he sounded bored at the prospect.

"All day?" she frowned. She knew he was keeping something from her, but she didn't want to invade his thoughts to find out what; something he was nervous about.

"All day," he replied.

She pouted. "Spending Valentines Day away from me... I hope you aren't seeing that doctor lady." The thought had crossed her mind more than once that something might be going on between them. She certainly knew Dr. Hanson was attracted to Jim, and she also knew that Jim thought she was pretty. But, Jim had told her that they were merely friends; and that was as much as he'd ever want from her. Sarah believed him.

Jim chuckled. "You know you are the only girl in my universe," he placed a hand on her duvet covered leg to comfort her.

"I better be," she smiled back at him.

"You are," he said to reinforce it.

She was happy with that. "So, I'm meeting you in the settlement tonight?" she reminded herself of the plan.

He nodded. "At the fountain outside townhall, about 6pm." That was all the detail he had told her, that and to pack an overnight bag.

She smiled and placed her rose on the duvet on her lap. She took his hand in hers and stared into his eyes. "I'm glad we finally get to have a proper Valentine's together," she stated.

Jim nodded, appreciating the fact too. They'd spend far too many apart and the one they did spend together was days before she was captured on Tarsonis; they'd both been too busy to properly indulge their love for each other on that day and had to settle for chaste kisses and stolen glances.

She slid her hand up his arm and rested it on his shoulder. "Want me to wear something pretty for you tonight?" She asked softly.

Jim chuckled. "Only if you want to," he thought she was perfect even now with her pale green pyjamas and dishelved hair, but he wouldn't object to seeing her in a nice dress for the evening.

"I think I have something," she flirted, "for both the evening and the night." She moved her hand from his shoulder and started to stroke his face.

He grinned, "well, I'll be lookin' forward to that."

She used her hand to gently pull his face to hers and he got the message, leaning in and pushing their lips together.

"I love you," he told her as the kiss naturally broke apart.

"I love you," she told him back.

He remained staring into her eyes for far longer than he thought would be tiresome this far into their relationship; but he never tired of looking into her eyes. "You should eat your breakfast before it gets cold," he advised her.

"Where's yours?" She asked, concerned he was skipping breakfast.

He laughed, "I spent too long in bed this morning kissing someone," he told her, not sorry for the fact. "I'll take a sandwich with me, eat it during the meeting; they'll love that," he laughed.

Sarah laughed, too. She knew the settlement's marshal hated it when Jim ate at meetings. But she knew Jim continued to do so because Jim was a little jealous _he_ wasn't the marshal; they got on well enough but Jim didn't want to make life too easy for him.

He signed and looked at her with an apologetic face, "I gotta go."

She nodded, sad they weren't going to spend the whole day together but they had most days for that. "Take care, Jim," she told him warmly.

"I will, darlin'," he kissed her goodbye and left, riding his viper into the settlement.

Sarah dug into her breakfast, enjoying it from inside her warm bed, before getting up and continuing the work to their house. 'House' was a very loose term for the shelter they resided in, falling somewhere more between a cabin, a trailer and an emergency shelter. But they had lots of space and they'd fixed up most of the rooms already to be a proper little home for them both.

Sarah was determined today she was going to fix up the furniture in the dining room, giving the chairs and table a new lick of paint. It made sense since they wouldn't be using them tonight.

After getting up she ventured into the kitchen and she discovered Jim had left her a large bouquet on flowers on the kitchen table in a glass vase. She smiled as she saw them; they were all red flowers of many different types that she couldn't even name, but each flower was beautiful.

Sarah had never gotten flowers until this past year. Sarah never had anyone like her enough to give them to her, or been in a position for Jim to give her any over the years they were apart. But now flowers were thankfully a frequent occurrence; just never usually this big.

She went towards the bouquet and was hit with the sweetest of floral scents and she felt all warm inside. Around the bouquet, dotted on the table, were heart shaped chocolates in red foil and a single red envelope. She picked up the envelope and removed the card within it.

The card was pink with two small brown teddy bears on the front holding hands and the words "Happy Valentine's Day" printed above them. She giggled to herself at how cute they were and she opened the card. Inside the words brought tears to her eyes.

 _Darlin',_

 _I spent the best part of a day thinking about what I'd write in this card. The truth is words could never express what you mean to me. The moment I met you I knew you were the girl for me. But I never knew how much I would fall in love with you, how much I'd cherish you, and that you'd become my best friend._

 _We've lived years apart from each other, and watched each other struggle, we've been through more than anyone could expect in a lifetime. But the struggle was worth it because now I get to wake up to you every day, I get to see you smile, and I get to kiss you goodnight._

 _You make me a better man, and I will continue to show you every day how much you mean to me. I will never let you go again, darlin'. I will love you until the end of time._

 _All the love in the universe, your Jim._

She blinked away the tears in her eyes and smiled. She felt exactly the same. She placed the card standing up beside the bouquet and stared at her presents. She knew this was going to be the best Valentine's Day ever.


	2. A Romantic Meal

Sarah had had a busy day painting the dining room furniture like she'd planned to in a soft lilac and they were now drying. She was proud of how they'd come out and how well they complimented the fresh white walls she and Jim had painted a few weeks ago. Her beautiful flowers from Jim had been moved to the kitchen counter and she was thankful their scent masked the smell of paint.

She had the taste of chocolate in her mouth, having given into the temptation and eaten a few of the heart shaped chocolates Jim had left her. She would save the rest to share with him one night, perhaps they could watch a movie and snuggle under a blanket eating chocolate.

She had packed some things for their night away, she knew Jim had packed his own bag and taken it with him and she hoped he hadn't forgotten anything. She packed his gift into her bag, too. She wished she'd given it to him before he'd left this morning, his card too, but they had tonight.

She didn't take too long to get ready for the evening. She wore a beautiful green halter neck dress which came down to her ankles. She'd recently brought it; having reminded her of the dress she'd worn on her very fist date with Jim. She'd found a matching pair of green shoes to go with it that had a small heel. She'd left her hair down, but clipped her side bangs off her face with a small silver slide that sparkled in the light. Around her neck was the necklace Jim had brought her for Christmas; a small silver heart with the initials J and S intertwined and engraved on it.

Confident with how she looked and ready to go she loaded her bag into the front of their truck. She didn't want to spoil her hair taking her viper and she figured they could put Jim's viper in the back so they could come back together tomorrow.

Certain she had everything and nothing was on in the house she begun her journey into the settlement. The drive wasn't unpleasant; lush green trees lined the way, broken up by the occasional body of fresh water. The road was as smooth as a dirt track could be but the truck handled it well.

As she approached the settlement the trees thinned out and buildings appeared. The colonists had only been here a number of years but they had quickly put down roots. It was early evening as she drove down the main road and it warmed her to see children playing and people going about their business. The sun would be setting soon, but she hoped to be in the settlement before then.

She continued down the main road until she came to the section of the settlement the locals called downtown. It was a hive of shops, restaurants, even some offices. She spotted a parking space in front of one of the now closed grocery stores and parked. The truck would be fine there until the morning; Jim had failed to tell her where they were staying but in the event they weren't driving there she didn't want to worry about moving the truck.

She got her bag out of the truck and began to walk the short walk to their rendezvous. She was exactly on time. As she turned the corner towards the town hall the fountain came into view. So too did Jim.

She smiled as she saw him dressed in a suit, yes, Jim Raynor in a suit, sat on the ledge of the fountain, a huge bunch of flowers in his hands.

He was looking in her direction and smiled the moment he spotted her. He stood and took a few steps towards her.

She walked the short distance to him and took in his appearance. He was so handsome and the black suit with its crisp white shirt and black tie complimented his usually rugged look. She stopped just in front oh him and smiled. "You look amazing," she complimented him.

"So do you," he told her. He noticed how similar her dress was to the one she'd worn on their first date and wondered if that was what she was going for. "These," he said as he remembered the large bouquet in his arms, "are for you."

Sarah smiled, "more flowers?" She placed her bag on the floor and took them graciously, looking intently at them. "They're lovely," she told him, "thank you." She eyed each and every flower, spotting different types that she knew she couldn't name in pinks, purples and reds. She looked back to him, "and thank you for the ones at home and the chocolates." She paused and looked at him lovingly, "and the card, Jim."

He was glad she had liked that little surprise. He let her admire the flowers before grabbing the handle of her bag for tonight.

"Wait," she interjected and he released his hand and let the bag be. She smirked at him and put the bouquet down on top of the bag.

Jim knew that smirk and he put his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him.

She giggled at how well he read her little expressions and hooked her arms around his neck, leaning in gently to kiss him. The kiss was soft, drawn out and loving.

As the kiss ended he looked into her eyes and smiled. No words could relay his love for her in that exact moment but he knew he didn't need to, just like he didn't need her to tell him yet knew she felt the same for him.

"So," she began, breaking the silence, "what's the plan for tonight?"

He smiled at her, knowing it was going to remain a secret.

She smiled back, she enjoyed this blissful ignorance thing. If she'd really wanted to know she could have easily pushed past his defenses and read his mind, but she liked being surprised like this.

He pulled back from her and took her hand in his, "I hope you're hungry."

"I am," she told him eagerly. She picked up her flowers and Jim took her bag and they walked slowly away from the fountain. They faced the setting sun as they went and admired the warm globe as it descended into the horizon. The sky turned a beautiful shade of purple for a few minutes before being replaced with the dark navy blue of Haven's night.

Sarah guessed Jim was taking her to J'adore, a small restaurant ran by an elderly man and woman, that was in the direction they were heading. They both liked the food there and it was decorated like an old Parisian cafe on earth; or so the old woman had told her.

"We're here," Jim said not too long later as they arrived at J'adore.

Sarah's eyes widened as she saw the bright fairy lights that decorated the shop front and its shrubberies. She could hear the gentle sound of music emanating from within the restaurant. She felt warm that this was where they'd be dining. Jim gestured for her to walk inside and she did.

Her eyes were met with more fairy lights but now they were joined by dozens of candles littered around the small, but mostly empty room. The candles were joined by red flowers and only a single table with two chairs was placed in the middle of the restaurant.

"Looks good, doesn't it?" Jim asked cheerfully.

She looked around the room for a moment before turning to him, "is this for us?" Her voice was full of surprise, joy and hope. No one had ever gone to this much trouble for her.

He nodded. "I booked the whole place out, even spent the day decorating," he stated proudly.

She laughed gently, "I knew you weren't going to a meeting for the whole day." She didn't mind his subterfuge. She looked at him seriously, "it's perfect." She admired his creative side so few people got to see, and his romantic side that he reserved only for her.

"Ah, welcome," the warm voice of the old man who owned the restaurant came. "Allow me to show you to your table," he stated.

Jim smiled at the man and allowed him to guide them to the table in the center of the room. He placed Sarah's bag beside the table and took hold of a chair by its back, pulling it out slightly and looking at Sarah.

She smiled sweetly at him, "quite the gentleman, aren't we?" She teased. She knew he was the best man and gentleman in the universe, but little things like this reminded her how attentive he really was. She sat in the chair and allowed Jim to tuck it in. She placed her bouquet on the table and waited for Jim to take his seat.

"Can I get you some drinks?" The owner asked.

Jim looked to Sarah, "a bottle of white wine?"

She nodded, "sounds good." She didn't really have a preference when it came to alcoholic drinks but she quite liked wine now and then.

Jim looked to the owner who understood and went to get their drink. Jim extended his hands and placed them on Sarah's. "You really do look amazing," he told her again.

She was sure she was blushing.

"This dress reminds me of our first date ten years ago," he told her happily.

"That's sorta what I was aiming for," she told him, grinning that he saw the connection. "There was a time when I wanted to forget that night," she told him sadly, "after you brought me back from Char."

He frowned but forced a smile. He remembered a few months ago how she'd told him everything that had gone on in her mind those weeks after Char and how wrong she was to have shut him out.

"But that night was so special to me. I knew that night I was falling deeply in love with you," she smiled as she said that. "This dress reminded me of the magic I felt that night, but now I'm feeling the magic all over again." She realized how goofy that had sounded the moment it had passed her lips, but she didn't regret saying it.

Jim used his finger tips to stroke her hands and he smiled back at her like a love sick puppy. "I feel exactly the same," he told her.

As the evening went by they enjoyed talking about everything; the past, present and future, the good, the bad and the craziness of it all. They spoke about them, and they spoke about the universe. They had moments of silence full of comfort and love, looks of admiration, and intimate glances.

They had enjoyed the fine starter of Oysters which Jim had found freakish but Sarah had quite enjoyed. Followed by a pasta dish with chicken in a creamy white wine sauce. For desert they had shared a tiramisu served in a heart shaped dish with some ice cream on the side. They'd even managed coffee with two heart shaped cookies each.

"Tonight has been so perfect" Sarah told Jim, hooking her fingers in his across the table.

Jim smirked and raised his other hand to the owner, winking as he did. He looked back to Sarah, "it's not over yet."

Sarah sensed a wave of nerves come over Jim, nerves that he couldn't hide, and she was momentarily concerned for him.

The owner brought over two glasses of champagne and placed them down in front of them before sharply leaving.

"Jim," she said to tell him he didn't need to but as she looked to the glass in front of her she saw something in it. She looked at it in surprise and her heart skipped a beat.

A ring. A simple platinum ring with a perfectly cut diamond that reflected all the lights in the room.

"Sarah Louise Kerrigan," Jim said slowly, drawing her attention back to him. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She felt a grin form on her face and without needing to think she replied, "yes."

He smiled, and got up, keeping hold of her hand and came beside her, crouching low enough to cup her face and kiss her.

She welcomed the warm kiss of her would-be husband.

As the kiss broke he looked into her eyes and smiled the biggest smile.

Sarah sensed that Jim's nerves were gone and were merely replaced with happiness that matched her own. "I'm going to be your wife," she said for her benefit as much as Jim's. She couldn't believe she was going to marry the love of her life, or rather she could believe it, but she'd waited so long and life had been so hard, but now, she could be his wife.

"You're going to be my wife," he repeated back to her happily. Jim looked to the ring and picked up her glass. He reluctantly let the hand cupping her face fall and pick up an unused dessert spoon from the table; using the long handle to fish out the ring. He placed the damp piece of platinum on a nearby napkin and returned the glass to its position. He dried off the ring using the napkin and picked it up.

Jim readjusted his position so that he was kneeling on one knee and took her hand in his free one. He looked at her and smiled, slowly guiding the ring onto her finger.

Once the ring was on her finger they simply gazed into each other's eyes happily. He raised himself up slightly to hug her, and he whispered in her ear, "I'm so happy you said yes."

"I'm so happy you asked," she whispered back. She sensed his thoughts about why they were whispering and she held him tighter; he was worried the universe might overhear how happy he was and try and take it away again. "The universe has to get through me first," she declared.

He pulled back from her and chuckled.

"As you know, I'm pretty tough," she laughed.

"I don't doubt it," he replied. He looked briefly to her glass if champagne and picked it up, "for my beautiful fiancée."

She liked being his fiancée. She took the glass and waited for him to pick up his. "To us," she toasted.

"To us," he replied. They clinked their glasses together and each took a sip.

She smiled at him and took his face with her free hand. "I love you so much," she told him.

"And I you," he held her hand to his face and moved his face slightly to kiss her palm.

"Can we take the bottle of champagne to wherever it is we are staying tonight?" she asked quietly and flirtatiously.

He nodded. He placed his glass onto the table, as did she, and they both stood ready to leave. Jim couldn't resist this opportunity to take her in his arms once more and kiss her passionately before they left the restaurant together.


End file.
